Melltorp to Sewing Desk

Materials: Melltorp, Effektiv door.

Description: A sewing machine sitting on top of a desk isn’t the most ergonomic or comfortable. Hands are perched in the air to reach the sewing bed, kinda like The Thriller dance. Amy’s idea was to mount the Effectiv door panel below the surface of the desk and create an under table support for the Bernina. This would let the sewing bed sit flush to the desk.

Bolts were used to mount the panel so that it can be easily adjustable up and down to assure the surface was flat.

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Jules IKEAHacker "I am Jules, the engine behind IKEAHackers and the one who keeps this site up and running. My mission is to capture all the wonderful, inspiring, clever hacks and ideas for our much loved IKEA items".

This is a fabulous page, so helpful. I bought the nuts and bolts today; I have a big piece of hardboard for the platform. I’m taking the curved oak dust guard off my antique Singer cabinet so I can get at the nuts. I guess I’ll have to allow the surface of my new Singer Heavy Duty (the only machine that still fits through the hole of these old cabinets) sit slightly above flush and then I’ll cut down an extra Olfa mat I have and cut a perfect hole for the base with a slit at the right so I can whip it off to take the machine out to use the arm.

The long Melltorp table was discontinued as well. “Unfortunately, IKEA has no current plans to reintroduce our discontinued 68 7/8″ MELLTORP tabletops” they write. Translation: IKEA’s future is in 4″x4″ plastic soap dishes.

What are the dimensions of the Effektiv door that you used? I tried to search for Effektiv on the Ikea website; but apparently this line is discontinued. I really like the Melltorp/Alex combo and want to duplicate it.

Very nice! If I didn’t have multiple machines that I switch between, I would seriously consider doing this myself! Would be extra convenient with a drop-in bobbin machine. (As it is, the Besta Burs desk works well for me so I can have two machines set up at the same time.)

It’s a really simple solution for the free arm. I just pick up the machine and move it to the ALEX which is a great height for sewing. It makes so much more sense than raising the machine up to table height that’s uncomfortable to sew at. That way I get the best of both worlds. I have a large flatbed sewing setup for quilts and a smaller portable area for the free arm. I hope that makes sense. The desk itself is also quite large so it could also be a workspace for freearm sewing too.

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